Occupant restraint systems for use in vehicles are known in the art. One type of restraint system includes an actuatable restraint module that has an inflatable restraint, which is commonly referred to as an air bag. The air bag is inflated within a vehicle occupant compartment upon the occurrence of a condition for which a vehicle occupant is to be restrained. An example of such a condition is a vehicle collision.
Restraint systems having one or more adjustable aspects to tailor performance of the restraint module are known. Such a restraint system is commonly referred to as a "smart" restraint system. One example of an adjustable aspect is the dynamic deployment profile of the air bag. Specifically, the inflation timing, the inflation pressure, and the positioning of the inflated air bag are adjustable. Adjustments are based upon at least one sensed occupant characteristic.
One or more occupant sensors are provided in a smart restraint system to sense the occupant characteristic(s). A restraint system may include occupant sensors such as: a weight sensor for sensing weight of an occupant, a seat belt sensor for sensing whether the occupant is secured by a seat belt webbing system, an ultrasound or infrared sensor for sensing position of the occupant, and/or a capacitive sensor for sensing position of the occupant. As occupant restraint systems become more complex, a greater number of sensors are used to sense a greater number of occupant characteristics.
A capacitive sensor of a smart restraint system is often located in front, with reference to the vehicle, of the occupant. For a front seat passenger, such a sensor is located within an instrument or dashboard panel of the vehicle. For a driver of the vehicle, such a sensor is located within a steering wheel of the vehicle. Also mounted within the steering wheel is a driver side restraint module and components for other electrical systems of the vehicle. Specifically, the steering wheel contains a horn activation pad for an audible horn system of the vehicle.
There are continual needs for increasing the manufacturing efficiency and for increasing space utilization efficiency of the components of all vehicle systems.